Kingdom Hearts 3: The lifeless
by xXkimiko3Xx
Summary: Sora, Kairi, and Riku are out on another adventure. On their way, they encounter a new enemy: the lifeless. Along with the new enemy comes a new "friend" as well. Is the new girl friend or foe? RIxOC SxK NxR?
1. prologue

Thanks for reading! Please review!

I do not own Kingdom Hearts, no matter how much I want to, I do not.

Prologue

Kimiko walked down the halls of her high school alone. She felt she didn't fit in with the other student because she had just skipped a grade and was about to skip another. She didn't know what was happening to her all of a sudden. She was only 15, and yet she was about to be a senior. She had always been somewhat smart, making A's and B's, but she was never near being smart enough to skip a grade, let alone two in the same month.

The other students didn't know her well, and the ones that did were the smart ones that were jealous of her being smarter than they were. She was shy, and most of the kids thought her as being stuck up.

Not only was Kimiko's mental self changing, but her physical self was changing as well. Her skin became pale; her usual chocolate, curly hair became lighter and straight. Her once deep, sea blue eyes were nearly gray now. Her normally rosy cheeks were now a light pink, almost the same color as her pale skin.

Kimiko didn't know what was going on with her, nor did she care. Her parents were quite concerned, however. They took her to see several doctors, none of which have ever seen anything like this before. She wasn't sick; all the countless tests have shown that. They took her to see several counselors, but Kimiko would say nothing. She'd just sit there until her "session" was over, and then she'd leave. All of the counselors said the same "she is just an extremely shy girl".

It was then that Kimiko's "death" would actually be her awakening.


	2. Chapter 1:Hallow Bastion Part 1

Thanks for reading! Please Review!

Once again, I do not own Kingdom Hearts, although that would be kinda sweet, but I don't.

Chapter 1

Sora was busy driving the gummi ship while his other two friends were talking in the back about the recent letter they had received from the king. It sounded so urgent, so serious, but the King normally was when he wanted something done. His normal personality was friendly and cheerful, but he was serious when it called to be.

Kairi got out the letter from her pouch on the side of her belt and read it again to herself. It read:

_Sora, Kairi, and Riku:_

_I'm sorry to ask for your help again so soon, but the darkness is returning. I'll send a gummi ship to your islands. Meet me at Radiant Garden._

_Thanks pals, _

_Mickey_

"It doesn't make any sense. How can the darkness keep returning? This is the third time now, and it's really getting annoying. Why can't our lives be like they were before all this happened?" Kairi complained out loud. She was glad to see her other friends again, but she wanted to be rid of all the heartless and nobodies once and for all, they all did.

"As long as the smallest amount of darkness remains in someone's heart, the heartless will continue to grow. And as long as there are heartless, there will be nobodies, too. I'm just afraid that there will be yet another enemy to face as well," Riku explained. Kairi already knew this, but she still needed to complain about how it was their lives that were affected the most.

"I guess there's a price to pay when you wield a weapon such as the keyblade." Kairi sighed as she looked over at her flowery keyblade that Riku had given her to help in the fight against the Organization not too long ago. She then looked over at Riku's bat wing blade. There was much difference in the two, and yet they were, in a way, the same weapon.

"Kairi, Riku, I present to you the newly restored, Radiant Garden, formally known as, Hallow Bastion." Sora said so suddenly it made Kairi jump. Riku and Sora laughed at her reaction, and Kairi quickly joined in.

Sora, Kairi, and Riku landed in Radiant Garden, and were shortly met by Yuffie. The enthusiastic ninja hadn't changed since Sora last saw her. However, it had been quite a while since Kairi and Riku last saw her.

"Sora, Kairi, Riku! I'm so glad that you guys could make it. There's something we need to talk to you about. The others are waiting back at Merlin's house. Come on!" Yuffie ran ahead of the others and was quickly joined by Riku. Sora had started to run to join the other two, but stopped when he noticed that Kairi was walking slower.

"Hey, is something the matter?" Sora asked when Kairi caught up with him. She seemed troubled and wondered what she was thinking about. They walked together slowly.

Kairi looked up and blushed. "No, I was just thinking about something. You didn't have to wait for me. I have my own keyblade, you know. I CAN defend myself." Kairi said in a joking way.

Sora smiled, but then added "Well, what are you thinking about?"

"Well, what if this time, something happens? What if the last times, we were just lucky? Or if this time is a much harder enemy that we CAN'T defeat? What if you or Riku gets hurt?" Kairi asked, her eyes tearing up and her voice cracking.

"Don't even think that. We will win, if there's even a big enemy to defeat. So, don't worry. Everything will be fine. Especially now that Riku's back and that you have a keyblade. It will make everything much easier." Sora reassured her while he put his arm around her to give her a quick hug, and then dropped his arm back to his side. Kairi rubbed her eyes while smiling. "That's better. Now, let's go and catch up with Yuffie and Riku. They're probably already at Merlin's house." They ran the rest of the way, and were quickly at their destination.

"It's about time you got here!" Yuffie said as they entered the door and saw all of their old friends: Cid, Merlin, Yuffie, Cloud, Leon, Aerith, and Tifa. Along with them were King Mickey, Donald, and Goofy. The room seemed quite crowded. They all took their turns welcoming them.

"So, why did you want to meet us?" Sora asked after saying hi back to everyone else.

"There's a new enemy, but we don't know too much about it." King Mickey explained. A holographic figure of a light gray creature that was about the same height of a heartless that had deep, blue, beady eyes. Its long arms touched the ground and its feet were quite large. Its head was shaped like a circle but it had an extra bit like how Santa's hat bends down or like rabbit's ears, or even equivalent to a partial swirl or cinnamon roll. There was a red symbol in the middle of its torso that looked like a drop of liquid with two spikes sticking out the sides at the top, one on each side.

"It's called a lifeless. It's created when a person's heart and mind have nothing more to live for. Your basic broken hearted, friendless orphan who no one cares for would turn into one. However, your basic broken hearted teenage girl with friends and parents who love her despite what the mind may think wouldn't. The heart and mind both play a part in here." Leon explained.

Sora, Kairi, and Riku sighed. The thought of yet another enemy was quite upsetting. They looked at the strange, new creature. They wondered what secrets they would bring.

"Unlike the heartless and nobodies, they aren't that fast. However, they are considerably smarter than them. Unlike nobodies, they are capable of emotions. However, to most of them, only one emotion is easily accessible: revenge. They'll attack anyone, thinking it was their fault for them feeling the way they did and changing into a lifeless.

"There seems to be a group of elite lifeless, like the Organization. There only seems to be a couple of them, but they are much smarter. Some of them seem to have special powers or abilities." Leon explained.

"How hard could it be? We've defeated the entire organization and countless heartless and nobodies. This is just another chapter in our adventure. Just like in school, the grades gradually get harder, but still passed." Sora said carelessly.

"Well, I'm glad you think of it that way, because we want you to go around and find information on the lifeless, since Ansem's not around anymore. We'll all help out, of course." Aerith said joyfully.

Sora slumped at that. _Great. More work._ He thought. Kairi was smiling at him, trying to encourage him. _At least Kairi and Riku will help me out this time. _He straightened up again.

"Kairi, Riku. I need you two to stay with me for now. Sora, you'll go with Donald and Goofy. We can communicate with the gummi ships. Tell us whenever you find anything and we'll do the same." Mickey stated. Sora slumped over again this time Riku and Kairi slumped also.

Suddenly Jiminy Cricket jumped up onto Sora's shoulder.

"I'll write everything down in my journal. We'll call them the not-so-secret Sora and friends reports." Everyone laughed at Jiminy's suggestion.

"How about just the Lifeless reports?" Sora suggested once he could stop laughing long enough to talk.

"Well, you guys are probably tired from your trip. You can spend the night here. There are some extra rooms in the back." Merlin headed to the back of his house with Sora, Kairi, and Riku following him.

They all got settled in the three rooms. Kairi went over to Sora's room after she was sure everyone else was asleep.

"Sora. Sora, wake up," she whispered while she shook him gently.

Sora sat up, rubbing his eye with one hand and turning on the small lamp that was next to his bed with the other.

"Kairi? What are you doing up?" Sora asked while yawning. His eyes were still half closed.

"I couldn't sleep. I kept thinking how we're not going to be together. I'm afraid. The lifeless seem a lot harder than the nobodies and heartless. I'm afraid that something will happen to you."

"Kairi, don't be worried about me. I'll have Donald and Goofy with me. They'd never let anything bad happen to me. But it does suck that we won't be together. I'm sure gonna miss you, Kairi."

"I'm going to miss you, too Sora."

"Hey, Sora?"

"Yeah, Kairi?"

"Will you promise to talk to me every day through the gummi ship?"

"Yeah, I promise."

"Remember my lucky charm I made about two years ago? Before this mess happened?"

"Yeah, I remember it."

"I want you to take it again. I know it might not give you luck, but I want you to know that I'm always with you," Kairi said as she put the lucky charm on the nightstand.

Sora picked up his necklace he had always wore. "Then, I want you to take this, to remind you that I'm always with you, no matter what happens." He placed the necklace around her neck. Kairi had tears in her eyes, but smiled.

"Sora, in the cave back home? You know, the one with all the drawings in it?"

"Yeah, what about it?" Sora asked curiously.

"The one with you and me, the one we drew when we were little, did you mean it?"

"Mean what?"

"The paopu fruit? If we could, would you share one with me?"

Sora sat and thought for a second. Kairi looked at him patiently.

"In a way, our hearts are already intertwined. I hold part of your heart, and you hold part of mine. Remember?" He was referring back to their first trip to Hallow Bastion two years back. "So, I see no need to, but yeah, I would." Kairi smiled. "Now, go back to bed. You must be tired, because I know I am."

"Ok. Good night, Sora." Kairi said as she started to leave the room.

"Good night, Kairi." Sora said as he turned off the lights and laid back down. He heard his door shut, and Kairi's door open and then close. He drifted back to sleep.

6


	3. Chapter 2: Kimiko Part 1

Thanks for reading. Please review.

Once again, I do not own Kingdom Hearts or any of the characters in this story, except Kimiko. I did make her up and I do own her, but that doesn't really matter.

Oh, and this chapter is back to Kimiko.

Chapter 2

Kimiko walked home from yet another day at school. She said goodbye to her friends as they parted and went their separate ways. She smiled as she walked the rest of the way to her home. She always had a fun time with her friends. She somewhat dreaded going home though.

She finally made it home to be greeted by their new butler, Sebastian. He acted friendly to her out of kindness, but she felt that he didn't like her. She ignored it and was kind back. She went straight up to her room on the second story. There, she quickly did her home work and then she would read or draw.

She would do this daily. When her parents came home at around five o'clock each day, they paid little or no attention to their daughter. At seven o'clock they would eat dinner silently and then she would go back to her room until she drifted asleep.

This was how Kimiko spent her days, with little variation. This day was no exception, or so Kimiko had thought. Up until then, Kimiko's day had been completely normal, going to school, coming home, going to her room. But this all changed when Sebastian suddenly came into Kimiko's room unexpectedly one day.

Kimiko stared at Sebastian. She was just about finished with her homework when the butler had busted through the bedroom door. He looked as if he was in a hurry, but the smile on his face showed that he was glad to be rushed.

He quickly straightened himself up and then bowed to Kimiko, who was still staring at him. "Miss Kimiko, there is a guest here to see you," he said without moving.

Kimiko closed her book and got up from her desk. She straightened out her skirt and shirt and slowly started towards the door. Sebastian quickly straightened his back and followed her out of the room, shutting the door behind them.

As she left the room, she glanced over the railing to see who her guest was. She couldn't see from such a high view, so she started towards one of two matching staircases, this one to her left.

As she walked down the stairs, she got a better view of her visitor. She didn't recognize him, but she continued without hesitation.

The man himself looked to be in his mid twenties. He was bald and had very dark skin; it made Kimiko's skin look pale white when compared to it. He was wearing a pair of sunglasses, and Kimiko couldn't see his eyes. He was very muscular. He was wearing a black suit, and looked like he belonged in the F.B.I.

He turned towards Kimiko and Sebastian as they reached the end of the staircase. He smiled and met them halfway across the floor.

"You must be Kimiko," he said in a deep, rough voice that matched his body. "I would like to talk to you alone if you don't mind." He took off his sun glasses so that he could peer at Sebastian and make it noticed.

Kimiko turned to Sebastian and nodded her head. Sebastian quickly understood and turned and left the room. Kimiko then gestured to a couple of chairs in the back of the room between the two grand staircases and the two started towards them.

After they sat down, the man looked at Kimiko seriously and then replaced his sunglasses on his face. "My name is Agent Cobra," he said as he stuck out his hand for Kimiko to shake. Kimiko saw that on his knuckles 'BUBBLES' was tattooed on them. She shook his hand regardless and then sat back in her chair, her legs crossed.

"And to what pleasure do I owe to seeing you, Mister Cobra?" she asked politely, talking in a sweet and quiet voice. Her voice was like sweet music that could not be described. It was like that of a flute or chimes, and yet it was something else as well. It was the most beautiful thing anyone had ever heard.

Cobra ignored the beautiful sounding voice. "I am here warn you- you may be in great danger. I work with the galactic alliance- a group of aliens just outside our solar system. They told me that a new experiment got loose, and it seems to be looking for you. They do not know what the experiment is capable of, so be careful."

Kimiko pointed to herself. "Why me?" she asked.

"They do not know. The creator of the experiment herself won't talk. We'll inform you if we find out anything more." He then got up out of the chair. "Thank you for your time. I'm sorry if I caused you any trouble or disrupted you in any way," he said as he walked out the door and slamming it after himself.

Sebastian then came into the room. "I'm so sorry to hear that you will be leaving us, but if he says it's for the best…" he trailed off.

Kimiko looked at him. "I have no idea what you are rambling on about, Sebastian. I am not going anywhere; Mister Cobra simply wanted to inform me to be careful." She said as she started up the grand staircase.

"B-but, he told me he was a social worker and that he thought that your parents…" he trailed off again. He sighed. "It is wonderful to know that you will be staying with us, Miss Kimiko," he said trying to hide the disappointment in his voice but failing badly.

Kimiko walked up to her room where she finished her homework and spent the rest of the day in silence. She was concerned about what Mister Bubbles had to say. She wondered if he was telling the truth or if this was just some prank some of the kids at school were pulling and got their dad in on it.

That night at dinner, Kimiko could hardly eat. Her parents, of course, didn't notice. She then went upstairs to go to sleep for this day had somehow worn her out.

Kimiko found that she could not get to sleep that night, despite how tired she was. She tossed and she turned. She decided to read, but that did not help any. She lay in bed staring at her ceiling and at the walls. She ended up staying up all night just lying there. She had dark circles under her eyes when she awoke. She put on her make-up and clothes and pulled her dark, curly chocolate hair into two pigtails. Then she headed off for her school.

At school, she was greeted by her boyfriend, along with just about everyone else in the school. Everyone except one girl. She wore very dark clothing and had pale skin. She was new, and even though she had been given many offers to be shown around the school, she rejected them all.

Kimiko paid no attention to it, though she later wished she had. She continued going on with her school work, slowly pushing the girl and the warning out of her mind. After a week, she had completely forgotten about the two.

After about two weeks after Cobra Bubbles had visited Kimiko, he returned, this time with a more concerned look. Kimiko and Mr. Bubbles sat in the same spot and had some tea.

"Kimiko, we have found out more about the experiment. It is a light gray creature that is about three feet tall. It has deep, blue, beady eyes. It has long arms that can touch the ground and its feet were quite large. Its head was shaped like a circle but it has an extra bit like how Santa's hat bends down or like rabbit's ears or even equivalent to a partial swirl or cinnamon roll. There is a red symbol in the middle of its torso that looks like a drop of liquid with two spikes sticking out the sides at the top, one on each side. We hope that this can help you.

"Its creator just recently went missing. She has lately been changing in appearance, no doubt something she has just recently been experimenting with. Her assistance went missing the same day that the experiment escaped. This may be something, but we don't know what. Please, keep an eye out for anything weird or unusual and tell us immediately if you find anything. You can e-mail us here." At this point, Cobra Bubbles handed Kimiko a piece of paper with writing on it.

"Thank you, Mr. Cobra, for all your concern. I'm sure that whatever's out there, it's probably nothing."

"Even if this is true, the creature was not friendly, nor the creator. They need to be locked up in our jail. Please understand."

"I understand completely. Thank you again, and I hope that you find who you are looking for soon." Kimiko walked Cobra Bubbles to the door. After he had left, she went back up to her room with a feeling that she was being watched. She ignored it, thinking it was probably just Sebastian.

The next day, Kimiko woke up and walked to school. However, when she arrived on campus, no one was to be found except for the pale new girl. Kimiko walked up to her, hoping she knew what was going on.

"Hey, where is everybody?" Kimiko asked the girl.

She looked surprised. "You mean you didn't hear? There was a huge fire in the city last night, everything burned down. There were no survivors. We were just lucky that we were in our houses, and that our houses were far away enough to not be in the fire. Terrible thing this is, really. Oh well, I guess what's done is done. I'm terribly sorry for your loss." She said this in such a way that Kimiko knew she wasn't actually sorry, but Kimiko was so stricken by terror, she didn't notice. She stood there as the other girl walked off.

Riku woke up suddenly in a cold sweat. He had just had the worst nightmare about a girl who every friend had just died.

* * *

That's the end of chapter 2. Hope you enjoyed it. Please review!!!


	4. Chapter 3: Hallow Bastion Part 2

Thanks all who have read this far! Keep those reviews coming!

Once again, I do not own any of the characters and/or Kingdom Hearts. So don't ask.

Except Kimiko. I made her up and she is mine.

Okay, so this chapter isn't very game like, but oh well. I didn't want to jump into the fighting JUST yet.

**Chapter 3: Hallow Bastion Part 2**

Riku slowly got up and got dressed. He walked into the main room to see everyone else already up. Still a little sleepy, he made his way to a chair and slumped over in it. He was still a little shooken from that dream he had last night. He had woken up in the middle of the night and didn't go back to sleep after that.

"Well, good morning, sleeping beauty. It's about time you woke up." Yuffie said, a bit sarcaticlly.

Riku grumbled."What time is it?" he asked.

"It's about 9 o'cloc-" Sora started before being interupted by Leon.

"That's not really important. We need to start getting ready for the trip. Sora, your gummi ship is ready. Whenever you're ready, you can go ahead and leave."

"As for you two," King Mickey pointed to Kairi and Riku. "You'll go with me. We'll be traveling a different route than Sora."

"Aww, couldn't we just stay for one more day. We hardly even got a moment to relax and then we have to go and defeat more enemies." Sora complained.

Kairi laughed. He was right, and she knew it was a lot harder on Sora than it had been on herself, but she hadn't seen much of either of her friends and now they were to be seperated again. Sure, she was going to be travveling with Riku, but it was Sora she had really missed. The small amount of time they had spent together on the island with Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie wasn't very long, barely a week.

Leon thought about it for a second. "..Well, I guess it's okay, if it's okay with you, King Mickey."

Mickey laughed shortly. "That's perfectly fine with me."

"OOH! There's going to be a festival today in the Market place today. Let's all go!"

"That sounds like fun. Are you going to go Cloud?" Aerith asked him.

Cloud had been looking down, but when Aerith asked him the question, he looked up. "Yeah, I'll go." He said, not sounding too perky, but Aerith still smiled.

Everyone except Riku, Kairi, and Sora left. "You coming or not?" Sora asked his bummed out friend.

Riku looked up, a bit startled. "Hmm? Oh, yeah. I'm coming." He said. He had been thinking about that dream, about that girl. What did it mean? Did it mean anything?

Sora looked at Riku, starting to worry about him. He gave him an unsure look. "Oh, kay. Well, hurry up. We're going to go now."

Once outside, Kairi and Sora exchanged a worried glance.

"I don't know what's up with him. He seems to be thinking too much."

"He's been through a lot, you know that Sora. We all have. He's probably just bummed that we're going to have to be seperated again and that we have to do more fighting." Kairi said, trying to calm down Sora a bit. She didn't like it when he was so worried. Even still, her words didn't convince either of them.

"I don't know, maybe. It just seems like something else."

"Well, let's not think about it too hard. I'm sure the festival is just what he needs, no matter what it is that's bothering him. It's what we all need."

"Yeah, you're right. Thanks, Kairi." Sora said as they turned into the market place to see several games, and even a ferris wheel. There were several shops as well, selling different items such as hats, bags, even some sold clothes.

"Wow, the festical looks amazing! Where should we go first?" Kairi asked as she looked around at all of the colorfull stands in awe.

Sora looked around, also in amazement. The ferris wheel was farthest away. "How about we just make our way around, ending with the ferris wheel?" He suggested. That seemed like the easiest way.

"That sounds like a good idea. Let's go!" Kairi said. She grabbed Sora's hand and was about to run off when they heard a familiar voice.

"Hey! You guys weren't seriously going off without me, were you?"

Sora and Kairi turned around, even though they already knew who it was.

"Riku! You look happier! Let's go!" Kairi said as he ran to catch up with them.

~*~

The three of them went from stand to stand, playing games, buying toys, accesories. Sora had enough munny from his previous adventure for all of them.

One stand away from the ferris wheel, Kairi was staring at some necklaces, trying to figure out which one to buy.

"Hmm, it's just so hard. They're all so cute." She looked at them, when she noticed a couple of rings. She noticed one that was star shaped, and it reminded her of a poapu fruit. "I'll get this!" she said as she picked up a pink one and put it on her left ring finger. She got some of her munny out one of her bags that were attached to her belt.

"I'll get this one," she heard Sora say as he put a ring on his left ring finger and handed the person there some of his own munny. He turned towards her and showed her his ring. It was exactly like hers, except in blue. "Now we match."

Kairi couldn't help but let out a little laugh. "Yeah, I guess we do."

Riku came over from the stand on the opposite side. HE quickly looked at the stand his friends were at and decided he wouldn't buy anything. "Well, that's the last of the stands, let's go to the ferris wheel now."

They walked up and saw that the carts only held two people each.

"Well, how about you two get into a cart, and I'll get into another, and we'll meet up afterwards." Riku suggested, knowing that's what they both wanted, and he didn't really mind either.

Both Kairi and Sora blushed when he suggested this, but neither one objected to it.

Kairi and Sora filed into a cart, and they started to go up. they stopped just a little way up, and they saw Riku get into the cart next to theirs.

They started to go up higher. It was awkwardly silent. Kairi looked down and Sora looked out the cart. He looked at the clock tower. It rung once to mark the hour. Ten o'clock.

"Hey, the fire works are about to start! Maybe we'll get lucky and be able to see them from up here." Sora said, breaking the silence. He turned to look at Kairi. "Wouldn't that be awesome?"

Kairi smiled. "Yeah, it would. This night has been nearly perfect. Sora, promise me that you won't forget me."

Sora looked at her, a bit confused. "Huh? What do you mean? Of course I couldn't forget you, Kairi." He took up her left hand with his. "From now on, these rings will be our lucky charms. Whenever I look down at this ring, I'll think of you, of tonight and how much fun it was."

Kairi smiled. "Yeah. Me too."

"Geez, Kairi. You sure are silent tonight."

She blushed. "Maybe, I'm just not in a very talking mood."

"Maybe, I shouldn't be either then," he said as he leaned in towards her a bit.

"Yeah, maybe you shouldn't." She leaned in a little closer. "Let's make this last night something to really remember."

They both moved in until their lips met. Kairi reached her right hand up around his neck as he wrapped his arm around her waist. Their left hands were now intertwined with each other.

They remained like this until they were interupted by the first of the fireworks. They both jumped a little at the loud sound, their hands now not touching. They both smiled at each other.

Kairi leaned her head against Sora's shoulder. He was a bit surprised, but quickly recovered and put his arm around her shoulders and back. They watched the fireworks peacefully, neither one saying a thing.

~*~

Riku watched his two friends kiss in the cart just a bit above his. He smiled. That was his plan all along. Finally! It only took them forever.

He sat back and relaxed as he watched the fireworks.

~*~

So, that's the end of Chapter 3! Please review!!!


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